Explosions and Dreams
by whalereaction
Summary: When Cobb retires, he leaves the team with a 23 year old extractor mastermind. From what they can tell, she's great. But when something comes up, her whole world crashes down around her. What can they do to help? HIATUS, PROBABLY PERMANENT.
1. Chapter 1, Meet Ali, whose head explodes

A/N : Pretty new to this site, sorry if I screw up some, lulz.

Disclaimer : I do not own Inception. If I did there would be an Arthur/Eames established relationship. If only...

* * *

The first thing Arthur noticed when they walked into the wedding reception was the gentle music. Arthur knew the song, it was a classical piece; Dustin O'Halloran to be exact. His Prelude 2, a lovely choice. Everything at the reception (tablecloths, flowers, and most of the accents, along with the color of the room) was white. The only outstanding colors were a woman's yellow dress, the piano, and the cello at the front of the room, on an slightly elevated white platform stage. A woman was at the piano, a man at the cello, and they looked almost identical. When the song ended, Arthur bounded up to the stage, and tapped the woman on the shoulder. She looked at him.

"Cobb said you could help," he murmured and her smile disappeared and she turned serious immediately.

"Follow me," she said, giving her assumed brother a look that said, _Stall please_. She welcomed them into her warm colored office.

"So you're Dominic's "dream team", huh?" she asked with the slightest hint of a smile on her face. Arthur nodded and he guessed she knew what happened. "He found an out, didn't he?" she asked quietly. Eames nodded but said nothing, scratching the stubble on his jaw. Ariadne opened her mouth to ask a question, but Arthur gave her a look.

"We need an extractor, darling," drawled Eames, smirking. "He said you could help?" The woman nodded.

"I'm Alina, by the way. Call me Ali. I grew up knowing Dom, and he's a good man. I'm glad he found his way back to his children." She nodded and then teetered a small music note on her desk. It was a piece of wood delicately carved into the shape of an eighth note.

"I'll be your extractor, as long as I get part of the share," she said, twiddling with the music note. Arthur nodded and he reached out and took her outstretched hand and shook it.

"Welcome to the team, Ali," he said proudly.

* * *

Almost as soon as they got into the "office" she set to work. She studied the target endlessly and memorized Ariadne's extensive work. She even made coffee for everyone, Arthur and herself the only ones to drink it. The target for this mission, an inception, was the heir for a very rich thoroughbred stable. His father had terminal cancer and couldn't move anymore. His father also owned the most expensive racehorses in the world. No one knew that Ali was working against her best friend's family, and pushing their oldest son Jak Nelson to give up his secrets. She wanted to get her brother James to become partners with Jak and could own the stables together. She would be very pleased if it worked in her favor. She was working for her own father.

"Ali, darling," Eames called from his chair next to Arthur.

"Yes, Eames?" was her reply from reading up on more reports on Jak, even though she knew almost everything about him already.

"Since you're not exactly busy... can you grab me a cup of joe?" Eames asked with a playful smirk. Alina rolls her green eyes and gave him a glare that said, get it yourself. She was immediately engrossed in the files once more. For some reason, she reminded Arthur of himself. The way she acted so much like a point man instead of an extractor. They did test dreams with her and they themselves acted as targets and she easily weaseled out the information like it was nothing. She was a great extractor but the way she acted... it was a point man all the way. Arthur walked up to her Wednesday morning, two steaming cups of coffee in his hands, both black.

"Vietnamese?" she asked with a smile as she took the cup. Arthur nodded and looked at her fingers closely.

"You play the piano and the cello?" he asked, eyebrows slightly raised. She nodded, taking a sip of the rich coffee.

"Yeah, I do. It's a lot of fun. I love playing. It's one of my many passions," she said, glancing over a few files and discarding them to the side of Cobb's old desk. She yawned and checked the time. Arthur looked her over again and decided to ask about her point-man like qualities.

"Were you a point man some time in your life?" he asked and a small smile flitted across her face.

"My brother is a point man. It really influences me to act like him," she said, glancing around and taking in her surroundings again. Yusuf was trying out a sedative on Eames now and she tried to resist the urge to give him a tip kick. Ariadne was drawing up another map for a test dream. The real project started next Monday. Her and Arthur were talking, of course.

"Do you play any instruments?" she asked, eyebrow raised. Arthur nodded.

"I play some piano and cello. Also the viola. Well I used to, until I got into this business, and Eames got me hooked on guitar," he said with a disdainful look over at Eames.

"Hey Yusuf!" Alina calls, and the chemist looked over at her with a grin and knowing look. He gestures to Eames and she walks over, motioning for Arthur to follow her. They both put their hands on the chair and with a big grin and on Ali's count of 3, they pushed the chair over, listening to Eames's loud gasp of surprise and loud muttered curses.

"Jesus!" he yelled, glaring at them. "What was that for?" he growled, his icy eyes not leaving Arthur's.

"You did it to me, Eames. On the Fischer job. Remember?" Arthur asked with the grin of a satisfied cat. Eames just glared and Yusuf smiled.

"Well at least now we know that the sedative works," he said, and straightened the chair back into its original spot. Ariadne looked up from her drawing with wondering eyes, the look she gave made everyone smile. She had been completely into her work and hadn't noticed the event until it was over and Eames was yelling at Arthur.

Alina rolled her eyes before noticing all the unresolved sexual tension between Eames and Arthur, and then sighed. Maybe if that happened between James and Jak... Alina bounded over to her computer, quickly typing out something. It took a while and everyone seemed kind of shocked by the sudden movement. She passed out individual sheets to the team.

Ariadne's sheet said,

"Architect, Ariadne

While on the job, flirt with TARGET B [JAMES C. AZAR] to get TARGET A [JAKOB N. NELSON] jealous. If this works in our favor, TARGET A will try to resolve this by confronting TARGET B, turning into a lot of sexual tension being resolved. Hopefully this will work out to TAGET A and TARGET B becoming partners and owning the stables together, solving some of our problem. This will be in the first level of dream-share, it will be your dream.

-Extractor, Inceptor, and ex-Point Man"

Eames's said,

"Eames, Forger,

Make sure you befriend TARGET A [JAKOB N. NELSON] and ask him about TARGET B [JAMES C. AZAR]. This will be in the second level of dream-share, and it will be your dream. Remember not to sound too suspicious. Act natural at first, then move in with the harder questions. It will not be easy, TARGET A is hard to understand. But you're a forger, you should understand easy enough.

-Extractor, Inceptor, and ex-Point Man"

Arthur's sheet said

"Arthur, Point Man,

You will be the dreamer of dream-level 3, and you will befriend TARGET A [JAKOB N. NELSON] and act as if you were a fellow stable owner/rich guy. Suggest to him that it's better working with a partner, and introduce me. I will be disguised, and I do hope that TARGET A will not recognize. Remember to introduce me as LINA C. ARON, your wife and part-owner of your stable. Try to convince him of the easier work. If this works, when we wake up, he the idea will be incepted. Just keep hoping, Arthur.

-Extractor, Inceptor, and ex-Point Man, ALINA C. AZAR"

Yusuf's was the shortest and sweetest of the letters,

"Yusuf, Chemist,

You will stay in reality the entire time. Give us the kick after 600 minutes in [10 hours]. That is 5.41 days in dream-state. I'm sure this is enough time for us to complete our mission, for it is fairly simple and Ariadne should be smart enough not to mess with the structure of the dream. TARGET A [JAKOB N. NELSON] is very easy to upset. He's very attuned to his surroundings. Hopefully, this won't be bothered.

-Extractor, Inceptor, and ex-Point Man"

There were nods all around. No one shared their information with each other. They took questions and concerns straight to the Extractor, Inceptor, and ex-Point Man, Alina C. Azar. Arthur raised a brow, but asked no questions. Ariadne seemed kind of taken aback by her very un-ladylike task, but sighed and put it down, continuing to exam her maze. Yusuf's eyes narrowed and he glanced up at Alina, but seeing her gentle expression as she looked around the room, his anger ebbed away and he could understand why she saw no need in him being in the dream. Someone had to be in reality, and they didn't exactly had enough money to just hire up a someone to help. They already have James as a tourist. Eames just took it, read it, gave one of his half-smiles and settled down to read more information about James, just in case he had to fix something.

"Ariadne, let me check the maze again," Alina says as she walked over to the architect and examined it. "It's better, but it needs to be more... I don't know. Spontaneous, out-there. Something the projections wouldn't be able to follow." Ariadne nodded, but then stopped and looked at the slightly younger woman. (She looked to be around 19. Ariadne is 21.)

"Do you have evil projections trying to sabotage everything?" she asked, and Alina couldn't help but smile.

"So you know about Mal, huh?" she asked and Ariadne nodded and narrowed her eyes. "Almost ruined everything, that woman," she said angrily, "and she almost killed our target and our client." She seemed genuinely mad at Mal, and Alina just guessed it was jealousy. She then shook her head.

"My subconscious is clean, Ariadne. No worries," she told her. Ariadne glanced at Yusuf, then looked back at Alina. "Me and Yusuf have been wondering... how old are you?" It was a sudden question from the Architect, but Alina didn't seem bothered by it. Instead, she laughed.

"People ask me that all the time. I'm 23, turning 24 in November. Lots of people think I'm 19 or maybe younger because of my appearance." What she said made perfect sense. With her big green eyes and hair that looked like Mal's but a few inches longer and more curly, she passed off as an older teen. She wasn't exceptionally short, but she was average height, 5'5"-5'7".

"I have a question, Eames," Alina said breaking the sudden silence. He raised an eyebrow and gave her a look that said continue. "Will I get weaponry training? I know how to use a sword and shoot a rifle, but I'm not all that great at guns..."

Eames grinned at her and nodded. "Yeah, I'll give you some training. Do you want to learn how to use and operate more heavy machinery like grenade launchers? Or are you just going to dream small like Arthur over here who uses a FN-SCAR L?" She contemplated his question for a moment.

"Both, if you don't mind. I could teach you people a thing or two about using a sword. It'd be fun. I could take you back to 1191 AD in Masyaf if you want. Sorry for the Assassin's Creed reference beforehand," she said quickly, giving a sheepish half-grin. "I'm a nerd when it comes to video games." Arthur glared at Eames before returning quietly to his work.

* * *

It was now well past 12am. Alina, Arthur, and Eames were still at the workshop. Alina and Eames doodling on different sides of the warehouse, Arthur scribbling notes in his notebook. Alina would look up every so often and scan the room before returning to the drawing, the relaxing sound of pencils and pens against rough drawing paper the only sound in the room. Alina wrote something on the page, and then flicked off her lamp. She still had the drawing in her hand. As she walked by Arthur, she bid him goodnight, placed the drawing on his desk, and disappeared, the sound of the garage opening and her Lamborghini driving smoothly out the door and into the Parisian streets the only noises of her departure. Arthur had glanced up as she left, giving her a nod and looking back down at his neatly organized notebook. He grabbed the drawing, careful not to smudge the lines and examined the picture. It was a drawing of him. His hair was perfectly slicked back but everything else about him was completely relaxed. His eyes closed, face soft. His tie was undone and hanging around his neck with his clean white shirt disgruntled and winkled, three buttons undone at the top. His suit jacket was behind him on the chair he was sitting in, but his pants were still nicely pressed. On the desk behind him everything was perfectly organized to his liking, his notebook laying open. There was a card on the desk, it was opened, facing him. Inside it said, "You are perfectly imperfect, Arthur. We all are. Just remember - "Finally brothers, good-bye. Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be one of mind, live in peace, and may the God of love and peace be with you." (2 Corinthians 13:11)" Her watermark was on the card, the flowing flag of the eighth note standing perfectly balanced, casting a shadow. It was solid black. Beside it was a small die balancing on one of its corners. The corner between 2 and 3. It also casts a shadow. Beside the die was her signature; she had beautiful handwriting.

Eames was getting up now, and he had his drawing in his hand. From what Arthur could tell, it was a drawing of a horse and a very pretty one at that. He also had a picture in his hand and Arthur could clearly see the resemblance of the horse in the picture and the one in the drawing. Alina had probably asked him to make it for her. Eames also bid him good-night and strode away, leaving his lamp on. Arthur turned his lamp off, and then Eames's before grabbing the picture and driving off in his own car to his large flat in uptown Paris.

When Arthur came into the warehouse at his normal time, no one was there yet. He sighed in relief. He would be alone, at least for a while. Eames wouldn't arrive until noon, Ariadne and Yusuf usually arrive at the same time, about two hours from now. Alina has been arriving about 7:30am. It was 6:00 right now. He went straight to work and was scared out of his workaholic mode by the roar of a motorcycle and the squeal of brakes against the smooth concrete of the garage floor. Arthur was up and looking over the balcony by the time the bike slid to a stop. And there was Alina, helmet now off, big green eyes wide and smile wider than anything.

"Morning Arthur!" she called up to him, trying not to laugh at his bemused and slightly horrified expression. "It's a Ducati 1198. $30,000. Cheap, right?" she asked with a smile as she patted the red and black speed bike. It looked very dangerous. She stepped up the stairs leading to the main floor where Arthur still was, standing at the balcony.

He raised an eyebrow at her sudden oddness. Ariadne was next to arrive in a Toyota Camry (07 Model). Yusuf not far behind in his BMW 3-Series (E92 08 Coupe). Eames arrived at 10am sharp in Alina's Lamborghini, and as he stepped up the stairs she went to greet him. Eames's voice was loud enough for everyone to hear.

"I left my Mustang at your place when I picked up the Lambo and your cello. I called the piano guy. Said he'd deliver it tomorrow." They walked up the steps, Eames carrying a box, Alina carrying a large case, most likely her cello.

"Thanks Eames," she told him, taking the box and opening it, passing out the sweet glazed muffins inside. She is all smiles today, thought Arthur with the slightest hint of a smile on his face as he bit into his muffin, careful to keep crumbs off of his clean gray suit.

"Where'd you get these muffins, Eames?" asked Yusuf, still trying to savor his as much as possible. "They're delicious!" Eames gave one of his lopsided smiles and taps the box with a charcoal covered finger.

"Got them from that little bakery downtown, right next to Patissierie Gerard Mulot, uh..." he tapped the box again and then Alina spoke up from where she sat at Cobb's desk, which she moved closer to everyone else, as to not feel so secluded in the corner in the back.

"You mean Pierre's shop? Pierre Herme Paris?"

Eames snapped his fingers in recognition and pointed at her. "Yes, that's the place!" he cried enthusiastically, almost jumping up out of his seat, causing Arthur to roll his eyes.

"So Ali, I have a question," Yusuf said from his desk, raising a brow. She looked back at him and said "Hum?" in response. "What's up with the bike and Eames using your Lambo?"

Alina just grinned and shook her head.

"I wanted to ride my bike here instead of my Lamborghini, but I was planning on bringing my cello today. So, I called up Eames and asked him if he could drive my car and my cello down here today, and he said he'd be happy to. I didn't call Arthur because I knew he'd be here already, you wouldn't have wanted to drive all the way uptown and drive all the way back downtown. Same for Ariadne." She shrugged and turned back to the files, before running a hand through her head and rubbing her temples. She placed her head on her desk, arms creating a cushion of support. Ten minutes later she was gently awoken and Arthur leaned down to her level (since she was sitting in a chair, making her much shorter). He pushed an Excedrin into her hand and set down a bottle of coke down for her.

"Are you alright, Miss Azar?" he asked politely, his eyes held some concern, not a lot, but it was there. Alina shrugged her muscled shoulders, eyes tired and half-open. She swallowed the pill dry, and it reminded Arthur of Gregory House off of the TV show, House, M.D.

"You need to sleep, darling. We all do," Eames said quietly and Alina nodded in agreement. Eames went over and closed the blinds on the windows, shuttering the warehouse into dim lighting instead of the sun screaming at everyone's eyes. Eames spread out thick blankets and doubled them up to create a thick mat with enough room for all of them to fit comfortably on it. Arthur set his computer alarm and his cell phone alarm. Alina setting her own cell phone alarm. She settled in the middle, curling up instinctively. Arthur was behind her, Ariadne in front of her, Yusuf beside Ariadne, Eames next to Arthur. Alina flips over and moves closer to Arthur and his lips pulled up ever so slightly in the corners. He moved closer to the sleepy girl and sent her on practice run on the PASIV, the alarm their kick.

* * *

She woke up in a plush hotel room. Arthur stood next to the bed she was laying in, almost smiling.

"Arthur..? Where are we?" she asked uncertainly, looking around almost frantically scared.

"Calm down, Alina. We're in a dream. My dream, to be exact." Alina relaxed and curled into the bed. "Why are we here?" she asked, still confused. "Did you hook me to the PASIV?" Arthur nodded and then frowned very slightly.

"Sorry about not telling you, but you need the weaponry training. And I want to know how to use swords," Arthur's almost smile had returned, and Alina pushed herself up, imagining her favorite sword, a Venetian shianova with a silver intricate bucket handle and a blue hilt. It was a long sword but she knew how to use it. She conjured up a long sword that was just as long as her own and handed it to Arthur.

"This, if you didn't know, is a long sword. Not usually used nowadays, but it was popular during the Third Crusades onward. The sword I have is a Venetian shiavona, very powerful and very fast despite its size."

Arthur nodded and flicked his wrist, just missing her neck. "Arthur!" was her squeak of protest and fear, and she moved away.

"Let's go to an armory or someplace with an open gym or fencing pads. I'm not getting my head cut by you and that sword," she said, eying the sword with distaste. She led him down the street, and instead of there being apartment buildings, she made it into a large armory gym with fencing equipment. The projections were staring now, and she was starting to get just a tad nervous. She walked in and began instructing Arthur, teaching him the correct way to hold a sword and how to lunge properly. There were large windows where Arthur's projections could look in, and usually his subconscious is very trained and nice. The next thing they knew, Alina was staring down the barrel of a 12 gauge double barrel shotgun and Arthur was wide eyed, staring at the random projection.

"Say night-night, dear," and she was shot in the head, her body exploding backwards, blood spattering onto Arthur's clothes. Her blood, he thought. He dared to look behind him at the wall. Pieces of her brain were sliding down the wall, gray and chunky. Her body had disappeared back into reality. He choked back the bile that rose in his throat and turned to face the projection before he met his end as well.

* * *

He sat up frantically, the sound of Alina's scared half-sobs, half-screams filling his ears. He was shaking badly, and the image of her brain filled his mind and he stood up, ripping the IV from his arm and running off to the bathroom before he spilled his guts on the floor. The others would take care of her, Eames was already awake, frightened by the girl's screams.

"Ali, darling? What's wrong, what happened?" Alina shook her head and Eames cradled her against his chest, and Arthur stepped out of the bathroom after getting rid of his breakfast.

"Arthur, darling? Are you okay?" Eames asked quietly and Arthur also shook his head.

"You should have seen it, Eames... It was one of the most horrific things I have ever seen in my life," he whispered, thinking about it making him want to run back into the bathroom and cry.

"She got shot in the head, Eames. With a 12-gauge double-barrel at close range. Her head _exploded_ Eames, and I turned around after her blood got on my suit, and her _brain_, pieces of her _BRAIN_ were sliding down the wall, Eames." Arthur managed to choke out before sliding down, eyes closed, hands against his very pale well-shaven cheeks. Eames winced and since Ali was back asleep and mostly sound, he went over to his friend, blue-gray eyes soft with compassion and concern. He patted Arthur's shoulder and sat next to him, and wrapped and arm around his shoulders. Arthur gave up and began to cry, tears running down his cheeks, soft sobs escaping his mouth. Arthur's head was on Eames's shoulder now, fingers gripping Eames's open jacket fiercely. Ariadne and Yusuf were making tea in the kitchenette near the back of the warehouse. It was herbal and Eames could smell it from where the sat. He silently hoped that the smell would soothe Arthur into sleep. And after a while of his crying and drinking of the lavender mint tea, he relaxed and fell asleep with his back against his desk, head leaned back, body almost totally relaxed.

* * *

**EAMES P.O.V **(random point of view change, I know)

We all woke up the next morning tired as hell. The floor of the warehouse really isn't very comfortable. Arthur, my poor friend, was probably the most tired of us all. His eyes were bloodshot and he kept drinking the hot lavender mint tea that Ali kept making him. He really looked distressed by the... incident, we all came to call it, and everyone felt really bad for him. But we were glad it didn't happen to us. By mid-afternoon, Arthur's eyes were no longer bloodshot and he was more of his normal self. Ali's piano had just arrived and everyone was crowding around it. While everyone was distracted, I saw Alina walk away and pull out her totem. She put it down and pushed it over. It tipped and fell and the way her whole body relaxed told me that the totem had said they were in reality. "Ali, darling?" I whispered and she turned to me, sliding the totem into her pocket.

"Eames?" she asked, seemingly frightened by the sudden noise. I managed to smile, and she gave a small smile back.

"How are you holding up, pet?" I asked her gently, I had no idea how she was. It must have been very scary, having a bullet like that through your head. She shrugged.

"Only one nightmare. You know, when it happened, I didn't die immediately. Well... not exactly immediately, I should say. For like 2 seconds I was still alive and the pain, oh God Eames, the pain. It was unbearably painful and I couldn't breath and there was nothing, nothing, that could make it go away. Not even 5 minutes in reality and I could still feel some of the pain. It's gone now, but it was terrible," she said, eyes distant and damaged. I sighed and she shook her head, a familiar Bible verse coming from her mouth.

"Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my territory. Let your hand be with me and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain," she whispered. "1 Chronicles 4:10. Well some of it anyways," I stated and she nodded and wandered back over to the shining black grand piano. She ran her fingers over the beautiful white ivory keys and sat at the plush piano bench, and started to play a waltz. It was gentle at first and then turned playful and exciting. Then gentle, and then exciting and lively and Eames could imagine Victorian noblemen and women dancing to them, coattails flying and dresses large and flowing. Arthur was relaxed and making origami at his desk, folding a piece of paper into a beautiful paper crane. When the waltz ended, Alina wandered over to Arthur, my Arthur, and squeezed his shoulders.

"1000 of those and you get to make a wish," she said with a smile. He nodded. "But I think I already have my wish," he said, glancing over at me with the slightest hint of a smile on his face.

"Oh, I know. I was just saying," She smiled and went over to me, clapped me on the shoulder, and walked over to Ariadne to discuss more ideas. I just blushed slightly before turning away back to my desk.

* * *

Today was the day. Today was the day of the inception. Everyone was ready and prepared. It was hard to be mentally prepared for another inception right after one, even though you completed it successfully. As they set up the airplane for the inception, an older man stepped aboard, around 26 years old. His hair was black and afro-like (his hair is just like MIKA's hair, Arthur and Eames both realized) and his eyes were the same green color as Alina's. He wasn't exactly clean shaven, he had a line of stubble along his jaw, on his chin, and over his upper lip.

"Ali-bird?" he called as he stepped in. Everyone noticed his clothes. It was almost exactly like MIKA's outfit in his We are Young music video. White skinny jeans, black jacket, pale yellow sweater vest, white undershirt with a ruffled collar and jagged short cuffs. He wore a nice fitting pair of brown leather lace-up Giorgio Brutini dress shoes.

"Here, James," Alina said, peeking over her chair after a sheet of paper flew off because of Eames. She smiled warmly at her older brother and gave him a hug.

"Hello, my bird," he said with a gentle smile. "How are you?" he asked, looking around the airplane with interest and then looked around the cabin.

"I'm fine. Come meet the team, James," she told him, leading him over to Yusuf first who grinned broadly at James and shook his hand. "Welcome, Mr. Azar, to the team. Temporarily, anyways," he said and turned back to the sedative. "I hope you're ready," Yusuf said as they walked away to Ariadne.

"Ariadne, this is James," Alina said, introducing James and Ariadne. "Hi, James. I'm going to be the architect for this job. Hopefully you follow well enough," she said before they walked over to Arthur who sat in his chair, going over a few more details and correcting some things.

"This is Arthur DeLacey, James. He's our point man," she said as they shook hands. Arthur gave him a curt nod of greeting and sat back down. Eames walked over to the two, grinning from ear to ear. Alina immediately rolled her eyes.

"And this is our Forgers, William Eames," she said icily, glaring at Eames. His gaze was soft though, compared to hers. But that was only because Arthur had caught his stare with that almost smile of his.

"Sorry, I had to get something out of my carry-on, Ali dear. Arthur, I do believe this is yours," Eames said, sauntering over to Arthur and handing him a soft blue silk tie. Arthur's cheeks were now a dark red color and he looked down in embarrassment, thanking Eames quietly.

"You're quite welcome, darling. I can't believe you left it though, it's your favorite tie," Eames said, sitting down at his chair right behind Arthur's. Arthur's cheeks got even redder, if possible. Ariadne and Yusuf choked back loud laughter and ended up giggling loudly. Alina grinned at Eames and he just smiled. James smiled at the couple, eyes lit up with amusement. "Very cute," he whispered into Alina's ear and she smiled and nodded.

There was a stomp outside on the stairs of the airplane and Ariadne pressed a button next to her chair on the wall and the door slid open quietly and shut behind the man that stepped on with a bag over his shoulder. The man that boarded the plane was around James's age with Eames's hairstyle and bright blue eyes that could match Fischer's eyes.

"Jamie?" the man asked quietly. He was dressed in skinny black dress pants and a white button-up dress shirt. He had a lavender tie around his neck tied in a double Windsor knot. He had a dark brown leather jacket draped over his arm; it was quite chilly outside.

"Hey, Jak," James said, giving the man a quick hug. Alina ignored him, hoping she wouldn't be noticed. She really didn't want him to notice her, she wasn't supposed to be on this flight. She was supposed to come with Ryan tomorrow. A flight attendant got everyone seated in the first class cabin, slid the compartment door shut and passed out blankets. Yusuf handed the flight attendant a bottle of clear fluid and made her make a hot cup of tea.

"Hot tea, sir?" she asked, offering Jak the tea. He looked wary at first and she smiled encouragingly. "Compliments from the pilot, he says he knows your family," and Jak took the tea and drank it down in a few minutes, and it took only a minute for him to fall fully asleep. Ariadne was hooked up to the machine first, then Jak and James. Alina grinned before Yusuf stuck the IV in her arm.

"Let's do this, shall we?" she asked groggily, before her eyes slid shut. Eames was next.

"Good-night, darling," he whispered to Arthur, squeezing his hand before falling limp in slumber. Arthur grinned and went under as well.

* * *

A/N :

Well that concludes the first chapter. Do you like? R & R, please!


	2. Chapter 2, Dream Level 1, The Hotel

A/N : Here's your update. I'll finish with chapter 3 soon, I promise! So sorry for the shortness, too. Like, seriously sorry. ;_;

Disclaimer : I do not own Inception. Chris Nolan does. I wish I owned it, though. If only...

* * *

**DREAM LEVEL 1**

The team was in a casino equipped with a bar and a dance floor. Eames was dressed as a curt businessman that was talking to Arthur, watching Jak from a safe distance. Alina was nearby, completely different. Her hair was exactly like Mal's and she had gotten taller. She was in a simple blue knee-high dress and was wearing black flats. She neared the men and they watched Jak and Ariadne from a distance. Ariadne was dancing against Jak and he was trying not to become too intimate. James was glaring at them from the bar and he walked over angrily.

"Here comes the good part," Ali whispered to Arthur and Eames, grinning and asking for Samuel Adams Boston Lager and a glass of Winter Lager. She took the Winter for herself, the Boston for Eames and Arthur got a glass of Chianti 1987.

James snarled as he walked over to the two and began confronting Jak, his eyes narrowed and angry. No one could hear their argument over the music, but a few projections had moved away from them. It happened in an instant. One second they're arguing, the next Ariadne had moved away and James had grabbed onto Jak's tie and pulled him nose-to-nose with James. Then they were kissing, angry and passion-ridden. Much like Arthur and Eames's kisses when they're angry at one another. They broke away, breathing heavy and cheeks flushed. Jak asked why James did that and James looked away and down, blushing and shrugging his shoulders. They danced for a few hours, and after Ali, Arthur, Eames, and Ariadne had had a few more drinks, they leave to the hotel across the road, where James said he had a room, and he gave the group at the bar a look. They leave the bar after giving the bartender a tip and headed after them. They get their room, all of them staying in one room, only for a few hours. James would give them a call after Jak had fallen asleep. Alina only hopes that it is soon, so they can get this over with. Arthur was surprised that there haven't been any attacks yet. They settled down in their room, and ask for bar service. A round of drinks for the team from Eames. They talked and laughed for a few hours before they are stuck in a game spin the bottle/truth or dare because Ariadne can't keep a few drinks down without getting a buzz. Arthur was the first to spin and it landed on Ali. He smiled. He had loosened up after a few drinks and now he was more relaxed and fun. "Ali, truth or dare?" he asked.

"Truth," she replied on instinct, she didn't like dares all that much. She had changed into a pair of skinny jeans and classic black Chuck Taylor's. She was wearing an old graphic tee. She had a Glock 19 stuck in the back of her pants, and she kept touching the handle, as if it were her totem. "Are you a virgin?" Arthur asked, and she was rather taken aback by the random suddenness of the question.

"Uhm... yeah..." Alina said, blushing heavily and looking down at the floor. Arthur just gave her a reassuring smile, Eames grinned, and Ariadne shrugged it off.

"So am I, but does it matter?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at the two men, who gave each other a look and Eames reached out and gently took Arthur's hand. "It doesn't matter, I just wanted to know," Arthur said with a shrug and moved on. Alina spun the bottle and it landed on Eames.

"Truth or dare, Eames?" Eames grinned an evil, smirking grin and he replied, "Dare!" like an excited child. "Well Eames, I dare you to go to room 114 and try and peek in or hear what James and Jak are up to," Ali said with a Cheshire cat grin. Eames nodded and walked quickly out of the room, swaying from side to side, whistling cheerfully. He came back a few minutes later, looking a bit disgusted.

"What's up, Eamesy?" Arthur drawled, trying to suppress a smirk.

"Well, they're up to something, alright. Sounds dirty, too," Eames said, shaking his head. "I sure hope that me and Arthur sound like that..." he muttered, and Ali and Ariadne burst into laughter, whereas Arthur and Eames blushed heavily. "Well, at least our plan is working," Ali said with a shrug and a grin. They continue their game, and a few hours later, at around 2 am Ali's cell phone rang loudly and she answered. She smiled and told James to get Jak somewhat dressed and decent enough for them to go and get set up for the second level. They go over a few minutes later and Ariadne says her goodbyes as she makes her rounds to put the team under. There was that moment of certain calm before they went to sleep. James would stay behind to help Ariadne complete the kick correctly. (They were going to blow up the room, it was an easy kick to accomplish, and there shouldn't be any anti-gravity stuff like in Fischer's job. Ali gave her brother a drowsy hug before she slipped under. Arthur and Eames (Eames having gone under first, since this was his dream, Arthur giving his hand a squeeze and then letting go before he also slipped under) were being professional, but they lay next to each other, hands touching. Ariadne examined her work with a nod and looks at James. He grins and grabs a chair from the corner and puts the explosive not timed to go off until he sets it. They have a 30-second time lapse before it goes off. James set his alarm to go off when they needed to set the kick, and along with the music, it should work fine.

There was loud yelling from the hallway and James cursed under his breath, throwing an extra pistol over to Ariadne and they got out of the room, making sure James had the key. The first round of shots were aimed at two security guards stepping out of the elevator. They were both downed in just a few seconds but they were hit from behind. There were loud shouts, but thankfully these guys didn't have guns. The first one aimed a fist at James's hand and his aim was true, it hit him in the hand and his gun was slapped away, his hand breaking with a loud crunching noise. James yelled out in agony and landed a kick on the man in his gut. He fell to his knees and James quickly kneed him in the jaw, his head jerking up and the sound of the man's neck snapping echoing in the hallway. Ariadne shot her man in the head right before he could hit her. More shouts were heard and two more security guards ran down the hall. James shot one in the knees and Ariadne did the same.

"How many of you? Are you the only ones left?" There was frantic nodding from the wounded men, and James shot them in the head.

"Good, no more of that, then," he said, eyes narrowed and angry. "You alright, Ari?" he asked Ariadne, who was gripping her swollen wrist in pain. She managed to nod before wincing. "Don't worry, I broke my hand. They're a lot stronger than they look," he muttered, running his fingers through his hair with his good hand. "Are you sure you're alright?" James asked, concerned.

"Fine, James. I'll live, no worries," Ariadne choked out, wincing as her wrist throbbed in pain. He sighed and dragged the bodies of the men into a closet down the hall with help from Ariadne. They rested and hung out the rest of the time they had, James gently coaxing Ariadne's broken wrist back into the bones' rightful place. He did the same with his hand, the bones snapping into place. They slept for a long while, catching up on sleep and Ariadne did some research with a computer she found. After a long few hours, she fell asleep again. Then there was the music, gentle but there. "That's our cue, sweetie," he told Ariadne, and he set the bomb. Time seemed to slow as Ariadne set the other bomb and he did the same on the other side of the room. There was silence and then a loud _tick, tick_ and then a big _BOOM! _

* * *

A/N : Sorry it's so short! I'm making the second dream level longer, promise. More relationship stuff happens after the job. Cobb/OC is introduced and there are more Arthur/Eames scenes. (I just love that pairing, they are so cute!) Fischer/OC comes way later, so be prepared for a Fischer-less story for a while.


	3. Chap 3, Dream Level 2, Conference Room

Back again. Sorry for the late update. I just finished it. I really am loving this story. It gets better after the mission, so don't worry. Oh and **SPOILER : **I'm apologizing in advance for character death later on. Really sorry, but the story had to have something...

Disclaimer : I do not own Inception. I own Ali and Jak and James, though.

* * *

**DREAM LEVEL 2**

They were in a bar again. This bar was in a corporate building, somewhere relaxing where the businessmen and women could relax on break and after their work and meetings. It was lit brightly and it was white, chrome, and gray. Alina had the same appearance as last time except for clothes, eye color, and facial structure. Instead of high rounded cheekbones and a square jaw, she took her face from Michaela Conlin, also known as Angela Montenegro off Bones. She was wearing a black pencil skirt, a white short-sleeved dress shirt and over that shirt was a gray, blue, yellow and pink plaid sweater vest. She had on black glasses and a smile that could light up the world. She was wearing black short heels. Her eyes were a beautiful icy blue.

"I thought you weren't a forger?" Eames asked, confused at the sudden appearance change. Ali just grinned at him.

"I had to work on my own for a while before I got my own team. . Worked alone when I was 17, 18, and 19. Had a team, but we disbanded a few years later when our point man and forger got an out. So, I was alone with my brother until you guys came along after Cobb got out too. Therefore, with the solo working, I had to learn how to do every job," she shrugged.

"Back to the mission, though. Go on, Eames. Work your magic," Ali said with an encouraging pat on his shoulder. He gave them his lopsided smile and walked over to the bathroom. He stepped out a few minutes later a clean-shaven young man with bright blue eyes and high cheekbones. He called the bartender over, gestured towards Jak, and the bartender handed Eames a beer and slid one to Jak. He raised an eyebrow, the barkeep pointed at Eames, who raised his hand in a gesture of hello. Jak slid off the stool and went over to the one next to Eames.

"What was this for?" he asked, looking confusedly at the glass in his hand. Eames shrugged, eyes amused at the sight of the man. He slowly sat in the chair next to Eames.

"You looked like you needed it, mate," chirruped the Brit with a grin. Jakob managed to smile as he drank and he looked around for any familiar faces. Seeing that he found none, the tense British man next to him relaxed considerably and he settled down to finishing off his first glass of Corona. Jak gave him a smile that said thank you.

"So, what's your name?" Eames asked with a quirk of his brow. Jakob also finished his beer before turning to answer his question.

"The name's Jakob Nelson. You can call me Jak. You?"

"I'm Jason Williams. You can call me Jason," Eames replied, studying the clean chrome bar before raising two fingers up for two more glasses of beer. The bartender nodded and slid them over a few seconds later. Jak nodded his thanks appreciatively.

"What department do you work in?" Jakob asked Eames and he shrugged.

"I don't work here. I came here for a meeting with my boss and the rest of my team. We work for the company, but we do not come to the building unless we have meetings. The meetings are few and far between, though," Eames said nonchalantly. Arthur wanted to face-palm, but he didn't.

"Ah. I came here because I needed to discuss a few things with my father's business associate. You see, my father is brain-dead and he left all of his money, stables, estates, racehorses, everything that he had, to me. We own Nelson Stables, you see. Our rival friend-enemy stable is Azar Stables, even though I'm close friends with their children. I have no idea what I'm going to do," Jak said, running a shaky hand through his thick dark hair. Eames gave him a sympathetic look and then smiled.

"Did you know that you're dreaming?" Eames asked, and Arthur got up and hurried off through the building, cursing under his breath. He was using Cobb's tactic. The "you're dreaming and you're subconscious is being attacked by some random extraction team trying to get info out of your head" thing that he pulled off during the Fischer inception. Maybe Eames could pull it off. Arthur could only hope.

Eames smiled grimly at the wobbling atmosphere as he finally began to realize.

"Do you remember how you got here, Mr. Nelson?" he asked, raising a lazy brow. Jakob frantically shook his head, the bar wobbling even more. Everyone was looking at them now.

"Come, let's go to the restroom, Mr. Nelson," Eames said, leading him to the bathroom, which was large and spacious with no urinals. "What do you remember, Mr. Nelson? You need to try really, really hard to remember what happened," Jakob shook his head and gripped the sides of the sink, arms bulging as he slowly stuttered out what he remembered.

"I-I remember… a bar… it was dark, and I was dancing with some girl… I don't know… James, my best friend started to confront me about it… there was a lot of kissing… uh… Sexual, maybe?" he squeaked, unsure and confused.

"Very good, Mr. Nelson. Now, who do you think would set you up to do this to you?" he asked carefully. Eames knew that Alina, being a forger herself, could turn herself into some random conniving "teammate" and easily get this done and over with.

"My brother-in-law. He's always been jealous of me getting the money and stables," Jakob replied almost immediately. His face was scrunched up in disgust and Eames nodded.

"I'm going to tell my two team members, okay? Don't shoot me, okay?" Eames asked and then pressed his cell phone. Ali's rang a few floors up in a spacious janitorial closet. She picked up and sighed in relief when she heard Eames's calm voice.

"Look for a team led by Mr. Nelson's brother-in-law. Uh," he paused and continued. "Mr. Liam Samuels," Alina nodded, she hated Liam. "Alright, Jase," she said, calling him by his alibi just in case Jak could hear.

"Good luck, Annabeth. Tell Mark I said to be ready at all times," he said, pushing the END button and slipping it into his pocket. "They're working on it, Mr. Nelson. Come on, let's go find them," They had secret signals. Jase was secret for floor 4, and "Tell Mark I said to be ready at all times," was coded for "We'll be up in around 5. Be ready," which was quite scary, in its own way. Alina stood pacing in the hallway, making sure there were no mirrors or large reflective surfaces for them to look at and see her real image. She was now a grumpy young man around 28 years old with dark brown hair and a clean-shaven face. Her skin was olive-toned and she had a square jaw. When they heard the elevator ding, they started yelling at one another. She pointed her Glock 19 at an area a bit off the left of Arthur, but it looked as if she was aiming at him.

"Put the gun down, Mr. Samuels," Arthur commanded, voice loud enough for the men in the elevator to hear. Eames and Jakob thundered down the hall, and stared at the sight they saw. "Mr. Samuels" was fighting against Arthur, wrists being held in place by his hands, Liam trying to break from his hold. Arthur broke away and kicked her in the knee enough for her to cry out in pain, but not hard enough to permanently damage her

"Mark!" Eames called, a fake worried expression on his face. "Where's Annabeth?" he asks. Arthur threw a fake wince over his shoulder for a moment. "Gone. Was shot by one of his teammates. She's in reality, waiting for us," he said, narrowing his eyes at Liam. While he had his back to them, he gave Ali a wink and a grin, and she gave him a half grimace, half smile.

Arthur pretended to slam his fist into the side of her head, and she "fell, unconscious" to the ground. They dragged her to the closet, and she could hear Eames talking.

"Where's the rest of his team?" he asked and she could hear Arthur's smile as he spoke. He acted like a happy-go-lucky guy. "Dead. Anna got most of them down before she got shot," Arthur said, and she didn't dare move for fear of them hearing.

"Well, that's a good thing," Eames said and looked around the place.

"Since his team's picked off and Mr. Samuels is unconscious, we can wait for the kick to get the hell out of this dream," Arthur said and Eames shrugged and said an okay.

"Let's go," they went into an empty conference room and locked the door. Since it had sofas, they waited until Jak was asleep on one to go get Alina. She was still up, staring at the door impatiently, and an iPod in her hand, ear buds in her ears.

"Took you long enough," she said scornfully to Eames and pulled the headphones out of her ears and into the pocket of her jeans. She had changed back into her normal appearance. Curly shoulder length dark brown hair and eyes that were too green to be real, with long legs and a gorgeous figure complete with long, delicate, calloused fingers and strong arms and shoulders was Alina. She smiled though, in spite of herself and they walked back to the conference room quietly, glad that it was almost over. Arthur had to go under first, and that made Eames unhappy.

Arthur and Eames shared a heated kiss, lips on lips, fingers tangled in hair, hips against hips. They broke away, panting, and they shared this look, this broken, scared-to-death look, that made Alina's heart want to break. Eames pressed another quick kiss to his lover's lips and hooked him to the PASIV, squeezing his hand gently before he was dreaming on the couch. He put Jak under next, and then gave Ali a wavering half-smile.

"You be careful, okay?" he told her gently, sticking the IV into her arm.

"I'll keep Arthur safe," she whispered before her eyes slowly slid closed.

It was a few hours later. Eames had set the bombs to go off when he pressed the "DETONATE" button on Ali's iPod touch. The projections hadn't bothered him yet, and he hoped they wouldn't bother him at the moment. Because right now, he was trying to find out more things about Arthur. Things he didn't already know. But it was becoming exceedingly hard to do, it seemed that Eames knew everything about everything about Arthur. Which was okay to him; it made him feel like he accomplished something. It was quiet in the room except for the soft whirring noise of the PASIV hooked up to the small group. There was sudden bangs and then the window to his left shattered. He wasn't surrounded, thankfully, but there were plenty of the projections outside. He now officially hated his own mind. He shot off a few rounds at them, the AK-47 jolting back into his shoulder.

"Drop the Kalashnikov!" yelled a projection from below, grouping with around five or six more projections next to a car. Eames grinned and yelled a loud okay from the window. He dropped it on the ground and picked up his M32 MGL, his smile now as wide as the Cheshire cat's, full pink lips pulled back to show off slightly crooked teeth. He shot at the car, and it exploded in one big burning fireball, the smell of burning flesh just touching his nose. He wrinkled it and stepped backwards; stepping quickly away from the stench that threatened to overwhelm his senses. He picked up the Kalashnikov again, and downed the two snipers located on the roofs in front of him. He snarled at the projections, launched two more grenades from the MGL and laughed when it caused a chain reaction in the cars below. Some idiot's gas tank had been leaking, and it leaked right underneath another car's gas tank. When the car with the leaky gas tank exploded, the gas trail lit on fire and then that car exploded, causing the car right next to it to explode, and so on and so on, until the end of the street, where no cars were located. It was an empty parking lot, thank God. There was a silence. It was long and almost never ending. There was no movement outside. Then there was the wail of a car alarm and he sighs in relief. Eames did not like that silence. It was unnatural. It was unsettling. It was _scary. _The alarm was shut off and he frowns. The world is silent again, holding its breath. The only noise he hears now is the steady roar of the fire burning down below. The street that the building was on was the only street in the city burning. It was like someone made a perfect line through the city, doused it with gasoline and set it aflame, just to see what would happen. There was calm. Nothing moved, there were no other noises. Just that. While the street burned below, he stacked some chairs against the door and slept on the couch for a few hours. There was more silence. Then there was the sudden noise of music. Soft at first, and then loud. It was something he'd heard before, something... And then he remembered. It was one of Arthur's favorite. Non Je Ne Regrette Rien by Edith Piaf. Eames smiled, pulled out 3 grenades, and pulled the safety pin out of them. He threw down another, just incase. He pressed the "DETONATE" button on Ali's iPod touch. Everything exploded around him, and the dream crumbled away.

* * *

A/N :

I'm working very hard to get chapter three done and ready to be published. It's hard because of school, but it's becoming easier. I'm not nearly finished, but I promise by October 5, I'll be done and you can have your 3 dream level. I might even have some of the next chapter done.

EDIT : Sorry about the whole really late thing. I'm 6 days late for my deadline I promised you above. Really, really sorry. I wanted to murder that 3rd dream level though. It didn't like me.


	4. Chapter 4, Dream Level 3, St Thomas?

Here it is, everyone. Oh my God. It took forever and I had no inspiration whatsoever. I am so, so sorry. It's really short and I hate it and I need to go get some ice cream and rage.

Have fun with this annoying short chapter.

* * *

**DREAM LEVEL 3**

They ended up on a beach. Ali was walking ahead of Arthur down the boardwalk to the sand. She was now her normal height, but she looked a few years older. She had made her hair straight (an impossible feat in reality), and it went down just past her shoulders. She had worn a strapless cover-up dress and a halter-top bikini, from what Arthur could tell. The waves gently crashed against the sand and it was very relaxing. It must have been a private beach because they were really the only people on the beach. Ali, Arthur, Jakob, and a few random projections were the only ones on the beach. Jak was outstretched on his towel, an umbrella casting minimal shade over his body. They walked over to a smoothie bar and smiled at the woman behind it. Arthur spoke to her and she moved away, and let Alina get behind it and she stuck a bomb on the wall behind the shelf. She set it for the kick and smiled.

"It'll go off when the music is exactly 2 minutes in," she said and she gestured toward Jak. Arthur nodded, walked over, and spread his towel out a few feet away from his. Ali spread hers out next to Arthur's, shaking out her hair. Jak looked over, raised his hand in greeting, and settled back down. Arthur suddenly realized that he had a wedding ring on his hand. He glanced over at Ali and she had one too. Then he remembered her little memo and he wished he had a cold bottle of water to pour on his face. Ali glanced at him, eyebrow delicately raised. Arthur shook his head and leaned back on his elbows. Jak looked over at them for a few moments, studying them, and then turned away and relaxed.

"Hey man," Arthur said with a smile. It was faked, but it looked good. "I'm Joseph Aron. This is my wife, Lina," Alina leaned forward, shook Jak's hand with a warm smile.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," she said politely. He grinned and gazed out towards the breath-taking water. Arthur looked over at their surroundings and he realized this dream was based off one of the Virgin Islands. It was quite a beautiful sight. He remembered going there on vacation with Eames once. Arthur sighed and settled down on the towel, not quite liking the feel of its rough fibers against his bare back. Alina smiled slightly at him and glanced over at Jak. Arthur took this as a sign to move on.

"What are you doing out here?" Arthur asked him, his eyes glancing over at the surrounding people to see if he knew anyone. He kept seeing glimpses of a projection-Eames. Out of his peripheral, far away, standing behind a woman in line for a smoothie, talking to other projections. Jakob offered Arthur a smile.

"Vacationing. Trying to get away from everything. My work is killing me right now," he rubbed a hand on the back of his head before shaking his head and closing his eyes. Arthur looked over at Alina and she nodded ever so slightly.

Time to move in.

"Hey! No wonder I recognized you!" Arthur said with as much enthusiasm he could muster. He thought of Eames, to make it more real. "You're Jakob Nelson. _The_ Jakob Nelson! I own the William Stable Company," Arthur said. It was an easy lie and it was also Eames's first name. Jakob smiled politely.

"I apologize, but I don't think I've ever heard that company name before," he said sheepishly. Arthur just shrugged it off.

"Not a lot of people do know my company, but that's fine. I get lots of business from small race companies anyways. In local towns where they have the tracks and things. Small business league. Nothing more," Arthur smiled at Jakob and he smiled back.

"Yeah, but my father's not doing to great right now,"

"I heard, how's he doing?" Arthur asked sympathetically, with a soft smile.

"Not too great. The chemo isn't helping anymore. He's dying," Jak said with a half-shrug. "I wish he wasn't, I really do, but, there's really nothing I can do about it. If it's his time, it's his time. You know what I'm saying?"

Arthur nodded sadly, thinking of his mother, and how the same thing happened to her when she got breast cancer. He even went to all those walks to help her. They never helped. He still donated every year.

"My mom had breast cancer, man. I truly understand," Alina looked surprised at this, but she covered it up by nestling her head on his shoulder. He smiled down at her and drew her closer, wishing for Eames.

"How long have you two been married?" Jak asked and Alina smiled at him.

"We've been married for 3 years," she said. Jakob grinned at her and then looked at Arthur, his eyes dark.

"How's business been with you?" he asked and Arthur grinned. "It's been quite well. Since me and Lina here took over the company together, instead of just me on my own, it's been a lot easier to handle. You should try it," Arthur said agreeably, his smile almost infectious. Jak gave a half-smile to the fake couple and lifted a shoulder in a half-shrug.

"I'll try, I guess," he said after a while and they let him think on it for a while, laying back on their towels and Alina ended up falling asleep. It was about an hour later in dream-time when they heard the music. Edith Piaf, Non Je ne Regrette Rien. Arthur absolutely loved this song; there was something about the French woman singing the song that made him smile. They had an explosion timed for the kick, to be set off at the smoothie bar he had seen Eames at a few hours before. Arthur quickly got Alina up and invited Jak for a smoothie. They walked over and sat down and Arthur could hear the faint ticking of the bombs inside on the wall behind the third shelf. He braced himself. He always had to. His Eames projection walked over and wrapped a strong arm around his shoulders.

"You mustn't get yourself so worked up, darling," he purred into Arthur's ear. He shivered and looked over at him. "You'll hurt yourself. Relax, let everything fall into place," he said and everything went silent except for the loud, fast ticking of the bomb.

_1,_

_2,_

_3.._

_

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_A/N: See? It's so, so short. I hate it. The next one, I promise you, will be much, much longer, and have lots more drama-llama stuff. /pinkyswear_  
_


	5. Chapter 5, Reality, Planes and Bars

Here's your reality, guys. I'm working on the next chapter now. It has drama. Lots of it. Dramallama srsly.

DISCLAIMER : I do not own Inception. I wish I did, but Chris Nolan did fantastic with it.

* * *

**REALITY**

Alina woke with a start. She was breathing fast, her green eyes wide. _That was amazing,_ she thought, head still buzzing with excitement and conversations. She slid her IV out, wincing. She had always hated the PASIV device, and she had always hated needles. She smiled weakly at Yusuf and he pressed a cotton ball to her wrist.

"Here, keep this on there until the bleeding stops," he said before turning to Jak and injecting him with Propofol to keep him asleep while he takes the IV out and stops the bleeding. Jak stayed asleep. James was already awake, looking around and pulling out his own IV and placing a tissue on it to stop the bleeding. Everyone else had done the same. A blonde flight attendant walked back and smiled at everyone and announced that they would be landing in Los Angeles from Paris in 30 minutes. Alina sighed and then her lips parted as she yawned. She pulled a blanket out of her carry-on bag (a small duffel bag) and snuggled into it, falling asleep almost promptly. Arthur smirked at the girl. Usually someone going through their first inception would be excited and hyped up, much like Ariadne on the Fischer job. Jak still hadn't noticed Alina, which was a particularly good thing. We didn't want him to notice her. Not yet, anyways. His father was being pulled off of life support this afternoon and the funeral was scheduled for next Wednesday, so Alina and her twin brother, Ryan, and James had to be there with the rest of their family. Alina suddenly jumped and she pulled out her cell phone and answered it with a cheery hello, disguised by a really good fake Irish accent.

"Hello?" she asked and then her smiled widened and she gripped the phone a little harsher.

"Ah, hello Ryan," There was a pause.

"Yes, I'm fine. And you?" Another pause, longer this time. She chuckled before responding.

"Yes, the job went fine. No complications. I'm still alive, Ryan. I'm talking to you, remember? Yes, the whole team is still alive. No; there were a few other things to be taken care of before that. Yes, I remembered. Is Cobb there?" There was another, much longer pause before she grinned eagerly.

"Dominic! How are you? How are Phillipa and James? And Miles? How long have you been out? Where do you live? How are you?" Everything came out in an excited rush and Cobb's laughter was so loud the team could hear it. Eames couldn't help but chuckle, Arthur smiled, Yusuf was holding back laughter, and Ariadne giggled incessantly. She listened intently to Cobb's story before responding, slower this time.

"Well, yes. The job went well. It was scary at times. And yes, some of those scares were caused by Yusuf and Ariadne's inside jokes that I will never understand, and that I never want to understand. Yeah, Arthur and Eames are fine. They said they'd see you before they head back to Eames's flat in Tudor, Mombasa. Yeah, Ariadne's staying here. Yusuf's going back to Mombasa as well. Later, though. I'll go back to my place in Monteriggioni when my sleeping habits are normal again. I need to see my horses. I need them. They help me, like therapy in a way," she said with a smile and Cobb said something that made her laugh.

"Have fun Dom. See you in a few. Tell Ryan I said I loved him. Thanks. Bye," She shut the phone off and looked sleepily over at Arthur and Eames. Eames grinned and Arthur smirked. Eames handed her a folded sheet of paper. She unfolded it and the picture of the ink black horse slipped out. She picked it up and slipped it in her pocket.

"Thank you. It must have fallen out of my bag. It's very wonderful," she said, pausing, "that you found it." She stared at it for a long time and then smiled. She nodded at Eames, slid it into her messenger bag, and then leaned back as the plane began its descent. Planes landing had always reminded Arthur of a line from a song by Brandon Heath.

"_Touch down on the cold black tar, _

_Hold on for the sudden stop,_

_Breath in the familiar shock_

_Of confusion and chaos" _

It was a wonderful song. Religious, yes, but wonderful. Arthur had never really been religious, but he prayed often. He didn't go to church, but he had read the Bible multiple times, memorized verses, had written insights in the margins, and highlighted his favorite verses and sayings. Arthur sighed and yawned, his head resting on Eames's strong shoulder. He had missed the familiar bulk, the ugly pattern shirts, the homey smell, the warm, scratchy voice.

Eames grabbed his hand gently and pulled it closer. He twined their fingers together and closed his eyes. The plane landed with a slight rock and bounce and it was carefully taxied into its place. There was that shock; that familiar chaos. Alina was the first off. She waited patiently for the rest of the team and they headed over to the luggage carousel. She grabbed her things and turned, heading towards security.

There was a young man, around her age standing just beyond the metal detectors. He had the same dark brown hair, except it was straight. It ended around 2 inches past the back of his neck and his bangs were long and pushed off to the side. It was a jagged cut and it looked surprisingly good on a 23 year old guy. His skin was paler than hers, but his eyes were the same amazing green. Dominic Cobb stood next to him, Phillipa holding onto one of Ryan's hands, James holding onto Dom's hand.

Ali went through security faster than anyone's ever seen. As soon as she got her shoes back on, she launched herself at her brother. Her arms were wrapped tightly around his neck, tears leaking out from the corners of her eyes. He looked slightly startled, green eyes wide. Slowly he gave in and his arms were wrapped tightly around her waist, his face buried into her neck. She pulled away, laughing and turned to Dom and hugged him just as hard. Dom's face was relaxed and gentle. It had been a long time since Arthur had seen Dom at such ease. It was amazing the transition from being the greatest extractor that ever lived to a retired 32 year old man who had everything.

She hugged Phillipa and James and looked back at Arthur and Eames, who were making their way through security somehow with the PASIV. She looked at Dom and then at her brother before shaking her head as they walked up.

"Well, we'd better get going if we want to miss the traffic, Dom," she said and looked at Arthur. "Are you two going to drop by later? We could have some drinks. I know a local bar. It's nice," she shrugged and Eames grinned and elbowed Arthur gently in the ribs. Arthur gave in.

"Alright. But what about the kids?" Arthur asked, glancing at Phillipa and James. Dom gave him a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry, Arthur. I have a good babysitter," he told him and they turned away, Ali holding onto James's hand, Dom with her cello and guitar over his shoulders, Ryan with her duffle bag and Phillipa hanging onto his hand. She turned and waved at the team before turning and scooping James up, laughing and cradling him with such earnest joy, that every member of the team thought the same thing they thought about Mal.

_She's lovely._

* * *

Hours later, the team was nestled in a corner of a high-end bar. It was a large booth and everyone was crowded around it. Ariadne and Yusuf were crushed together in the corner, giggling over beer. Dom and Ali sat in the opposite corner, and Arthur and Eames were sitting across from each other, Arthur stuck next to Yusuf. Ali was nursing a cocktail that the bartender called a Gamble. It was good, just not what she needed. What she needed was a scotch or gin and tonic or something stronger than a Gamble that only had a shot of gin, pineapple juice, and pomegranate juice. She raised a hand to a young waitress walking about and she shuffled over.

"Gin and tonic, please," she ordered, yawning and glancing around the table. "Anything for any of you?" she asked and everyone shook their heads. The waitress nodded and scampered off to the bartender who nodded and slid a glass to her. She skittered over, placed it on the table and began her rounds again. She reminded Ali of a squirrel. Skittish and shy. She shook her head and nursed her drink.

Arthur wasn't exactly sloshed yet, but he was drunk enough to do something stupid. Like go up to the karaoke stage, steal a guitar, and start singing. The table in the corner was laughing so hard that the barkeep told them to quiet down. It wasn't that he was a bad singer. No, it was just the opposite. He was amazing and he was playing a guitar in a lovely three piece suit even though his tie was loosened and the buttons were undone. He sang and they laughed and drank away the stress that had built over the job. The team got to know Ali better, and yet again, like with Mal, they thought she was just lovely.

Later, outside the bar while the team had gone out for a smoke break, Ali stole Cobb's cigarette, crushed it under her foot, and kissed him, soft and sweet. They went home an hour later, Cobb looking happier than ever, and Ali with this look of pure bliss on her face. They got into a cab after telling the team goodnight and they went back to Cobb's, Ali falling asleep curled up with Dom in his bed; Ryan asleep on the couch and the kids curled up on either side of him.

* * *

A/N : Okay. There. Finished. Finally. UGH. Anyways, I have the next chapter being written like... right now, so you'll get it soon. If you really love Arthur/Eames, go to . she has amazing recs, seriously.


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